Not Another Xiaolin Dragon
by McMuffinDragon
Summary: Everyone's favorite monks travel to The Jade Temple for the Xiaolin Conference and Ball. RaiXKim KimXOC OmiXOC ClayXOC OCXOC
1. Chapter 1

**EDIT [4-28-09]** Hi, since it's been a very long time since I wrote this, I thought I'd go back and review/fix some stuff here. Almost three years changed me and my style a lot, so I just wanted to make this not such an embarrassment.

The song below is Babylon by David Gray.

_Not Another Xiaolin Dragon_

_Chapter One_

Dojo landed in the middle of the courtyard. The four Dragons hopped off.

"Finally," declared Omi proudly, "We have succeeded in obtaining the latest Shen Gong Wu! We possess, do we not?"

"You mean 'own'," corrected the dark haired Japanese girl, "We own," The Brazilian boy next to her rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Ah, Dragons," Master Fung addressed them. "I have a surprise for you. Come with me." He brought them through multiple arches, down several hallways, past the well and finally to the edge of the temple grounds. Under a blooming cherry tree sat a rusty red haired girl. She wore roughed up blue jeans, a black jacket and a black shirt underneath with the saying, "I do all my own stunts" written on it and a rather comical picture of a white stick figure looking as though he'd just jumped off a building. The red head sat on the stone bench under the tree playing a violin and softly singing to herself.

"If you want it, come and get it, for crying out loud. The love that I was givin' you was never in doubt," They not only heard the song, they felt it, like they were under her control. The four Dragons and Master Fung stood watching her for a while. Eventually, she cut off the last note and the "spell" was broken. Everyone snapped back to their senses.

"Wonderful performance," Master Fung said clapping slowly, "Dragons, this is Charlemagne. She will be joining us here at the temple." The girl hopped up gladly.

"Charlemagne Shale," She put out her hand to be shaken.

_Charlemagne, _Clay thought,_ I know someone named Charlemagne, don't I? _He wracked his memories for anyone fitting her description, finding nothing, he gave up.

"Kimiko Tohomiko, Dragon of Fire," The two shook hands. Charlemagne then set her eyes on Raimundo. He stared at her indifferently.

"You are?" she asked.

"Raimundo Pedrosa, pleasure to meet you," he muttered into his arms which were across his chest.

"Wish it was a pleasure to meet you," Charlemagne muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Rai became suddenly loud, echoing through the hills.

"Oh nothing," she replied with a smile. Clay mentally kicked himself. He knew that smile. Charlemagne met Omi and finally turned her eyes to Clay. She stared at him for what felt like hours, making him uneasy. She looked him up and down. After about three minutes, revelation dawned on her face.

"Clay Bailey?" she whispered. He looked at her and nodded. "Oh my god, it's you. Look at you,"

"Alright," he said, "I gotta level with ya, lil lady. Who are you?" Disappointment creased her features and she sighed. Then put on a high little girl voice and said:

"Clay, how many cow does your daddy have 'cause my daddy wants to know," That was a bit more of a clue, her father's worked with his daddy. "Anything?" she asked in her normal voice. He shook his head. "Oh I know," she said putting her violin under her chin and playing an extremely screechy tune that sounded like a cat was being beaten with a tennis racket.

"Ahh," Clay yelled with his hands over his ears, "Carly quit playin' the gald durn fiddle or I'm-a gonna throw it in the river!" She stopped playing and he opened his eyes. Clay no longer saw the pale teen that'd been before him a second ago, but now saw a short tan little girl trying to play the violin.

"Carly," it finally dawned on him. Clay pulled her into a fierce bear hug.

"Just like a bone crushing hugs your father gave," she wheezed. He eventually let go and she caught her breath. "How long has it been?" she asked in awe.

"Gotta be ten years," he responded just as surprised. Rai cut in.

"So you two know each other?"

"Mm hm," Carly nodded, "Old friends. Been such forever."

"Uh huh," Rai said, "You don't talk like him though," he said to Carly.

"Because I moved away when I was seven. Never saw Clay again 'till now." She smiled lightly.

"Well, that is fine and good. I'm sure Charlemagne would like to rest," Master Fung stepped up to Carly's side.

"Please Master," she said, "Call me Carly. I don't exactly like being referred to like the Holy Roman Emperor." Carly walked up to one nearest building. Inside was a room with a mat and a couple black cases.

"What are these?" Omi said picking up a rectangular one.

"Instrument cases," Carly answered. "I'm the Dragon of song, after all. I wanted to bring my harp but it was too much of a hassle." She carefully laid her violin in a case like it was a child, snapped it shut and set on the table. There was a duffel bag by the mat that must have held Carly's other items. Eventually all the other Dragons drifted out of the room except Clay. "Can I help you?" she asked cocking her head to one side. _It's so cute when she does that. _Clay thought.

"No, just glad to have you 'round," he said. She smiled. "You must be tired; I'll leave you be." He left and walked to the building across the courtyard where his own mat was. Omi'd fallen asleep. Kimiko was chatting away on her phone and Rai was blasting the racket he claimed was music. Clay lay down on his own mat and smiled at the ceiling. _Sure is nice to have Carly back. Missed her. _He wasn't sure when, but he eventually drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Alright, nobody reviewed but I got 43 hits and that's victory enough for me. Plus I'm bored as hell. There's another song in this chapter, Too Little Too Late by Barenaked Ladies, so I don't own it. Don't own Xiaolin Showdown either. So okay._**

_**Chapter Two**_

Clay woke before sunrise. He heard singing outside. _Carly,_ he immediately thought. _Only person crazy enough to be up before sunrise and singing. _He got up and quietly crept outside. Sure enough, Carly sat down by the cherry tree with an acoustic guitar.

"And I could be good and I would- if I knew I was understood. And it'll be great, just wait-or is it too little too late? Record and play, after years of endless rewind. Yesterday wasn't half as tough as this time. This isn't hell, last time I couldn't tell. This mind wasn't well. Next time, hope I'm …gonna be good, and I would-if I knew I was understood. And it'll be great, just wait-or is it too little too late?"

"That's some right pretty playin'" he said walking down the hill to her. Carly jumped a foot in the air and turned around in surprise, she was blushing furiously. Seeing that it was Clay, she sighed and relaxed.

"Thank you," she said leaning against the tree trunk and stretching, "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Naw," Clay lied and shook his head. "I'm always up 'round this time,"

"Thus is the life a cowboy," Carly said strumming off a couple arbitrary chords.

"Darn tootin'" Clay sat beside her in the dew soaked grass. Carly stared at the sunrise, strumming the guitar absentmindedly. He looked closely at her neck; on it was a bronze choker, a dragon with an amethyst eye biting its own tail. "Hey, what's that?" He asked bringing his hand right up to her neck, admiring the craftsmanship of the trinket.

"Oh, this?" She ran her fingers over it. "It's a Xiaolin Dragon necklace. You get one when you're a real full dragon. It's like your sash. You got a blue one; you're an apprentice, right?" He nodded. "Yeah, you'll get one of these sometime,"

"Who decides when?" he asked.

"The Devine Powers of the Earth, whenever you're ready, a Xiaolin necklace will reveal itself to you. Only you can retrieve it. Once it's on your neck, you can't get it off. It's with you forever. That is some sunrise, huh?" She was trying to get off the subject. Clay didn't push the necklace talk; Carly was prone to easy vexation.

"Boy howdy," Clay said just now looking at the sunrise. He heard Carly chuckle quietly next to him.

"You haven't been looking at the sun at all, have you?" She looked in his cerulean eyes with a smug look in her amber orbs. Clay blushed.

"You ain't watchin' it anymore either," he observed. At this, Carly found her bare feet very fascinating. He watched her ears rapidly turn red.

"There you are," they both turned to see Omi running joyfully down the hill to them.

"Yes here we are," Carly responded standing up, "Do you want something?"

"I only wish to bring the newest member of our team to the breaking of the fast," he took her hand and started leading her up the hill. Clay followed.

"The what?" she whispered to him as he walked beside her.

"Breakfast," Clay replied with a smile.

"Oh," Carly said blushing, "Is he always this hard to figure out?"

"Most of the time," he responded. They went to the grand hall to find Kimiko and Raimundo already there. Kimiko was typing away furiously on her laptop and Rai looked like he would fall asleep in his bowl.

"Friends, look who I have found, your new comrade Charlemagne. Is that not the most owning thing ever?" Omi said proudly.

"Yeah sure," Kimiko said quickly barely looking up from her screen.

"It's Carly, Omi," She said walking past him to sit on one of the cushions at the little table. "And no, I am not the most owning thing ever." She reached for the bowl in front of her. _Hope it's not rice._ She thought putting her guitar down on the floor beside her. When she looked inside a look of disappointment and frustration came over her face. She sighed, "Rice, I thought I'd gotten away from the stuff when I left my first temple, but lo and behold, here it is. Rice for breakfast." She sighed again, picked up her chopsticks and started eating. Clay sat next to her and started eating. After a few minutes Raimundo realized Carly was there.

"You're still here?" he asked with a yawn.

"Yes," Carly replied with a bit of a frown on her thin lips.

"How long you gonna be around?" Rai continued his interrogation.

"At least until after the Xiaolin conference and ball," the second the word 'ball' passed Carly's lips, she mentally kicked herself. _You weren't supposed to tell them you idiot!_

"A ball," Kimiko abandoned her technology to listen. Carly nodded. "Tell us more," by 'us' she clearly meant 'me'.

"The Xiaolin conference and ball is a gathering of all the Xiaolin Dragons once every ten years," Master Fung entered the hall. "The Masters of every temple meet and discuss the progress made in each temple's training of Dragons. The Chosen ones, themselves, are allowed to make friends with each other and mingle," he looked at Carly to check his slang. She nodded so he continued, "Before all the temples leave, there is a ball held and most temples never come in contact again until the next conference."

"The conferences and balls are held at my home temple, the Jade Temple. It's not far from here." Carly added.

"Yes, being that it is not far, we are leaving this evening," Master Fung concluded and swiftly left the hall.

"Ooo, I can't wait for that ball," Kimiko said bouncing joyfully.

"Sounds like a girl thing," Rai said uninterested.

"It's not," Carly said, "It's tons of fun, just from what I've heard from my master. You get to meet all your peers and see what they can do, it's gonna be great. I can't wait,"

"Why didn't you just go back to your Jade Temple, why'd you come here to lave with us?" Clay asked.

"My master said it's tradition for the students of the Jade temple to travel the world bringing new of the conference to every temple, the last temple they visit is they temple they travel with to the conference. You guys are my last stop, so I'm going with you." She put down her empty bowl and got up. "I'm gonna go get dressed. See ya," She'd been wearing a plain black tee shirt and a pair of loose flannel pants the whole time, clearly, her pajamas.

_**Okay, I'm gonna stop. PLEASE! PLEASE! REVIEW! I'm asking in all caps, you can't say no to that. Even if it's just 'nice story, update soon' I've got a friend who does that all the time, nave says anything else, but his reviews make me happy because I'm getting reviews. So I'm begging you, REVIEW ME!**_

_**Review me,**_

**_-McMuffin(review me)Dragon _**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Hey I'm back. Not much to say notes wise. Thanks to me reviewers. This is a fairly long chapter. And it was all written whilst listening to the "Wicked" soundtrack over and over again. So, yep. Oh, almost forgot. Disclaimer: Me no ownee. The song is King of New York from Newsies, I don't own it either._**

_**Chapter Three, already?**_

"Tsunami strike, water!" Omi cried and Rai was slammed against the wall by a jet of water. He got up groaning and walked sluggishly over to the sidelines.

"That was a good attempt, Raimundo," Master Fung said. "Does anyone else wish to challenge Omi?" Kimiko and Clay both shook their heads rapidly.

"What about her?" Rai asked pointing at Carly who was sitting in the afternoon sun strumming her mahogany acoustic guitar. "Why doesn't the new girl have to spar?"

"Rai, she's a guest," Kimiko said staring at her.

"Yes Raimundo, Charlemagne should only spar if she wishes," Master Fung added.

"Hey, I heard my name," Carly was suddenly before them.

"We were just wondering if you wanted to spar with Omi," Kimiko said turning to look at the small monk behind them. Carly leaned over slightly to look past the crowd of four.

"Dragon of Water, right?" she asked now looking at the neck of her guitar and trying many finger positions.

"Why does it matter?" Raimundo asked angrily.

"Because, a D chord will throw **you** about…fifty feet in the air, approximate, while it won't do anything to Omi over there. So, Dragon of Water?" she asked again.

"Yep," Kimiko said pushing Carly into the ring.

"Alright, Omi said, "Prepare to feast on my dirt!" he declared.

"Do what?" Carly asked.

"He says you're gonna eat his dust," Kimiko explained.

"Oh," Carly laughed, "I don't think so. Go ahead, try me." She clenched her pick in her hand. "Don't let me down, Silver," she whispered.

"Tsunami strike, water," Omi shouted. The wall of water rushed at her but Carly did nothing. When the water was only ten feet away, she struck a chord on her guitar. The air within five feet of her shimmered and waved. When the water hit the boundary of the shimmering air, it flew off to the sidelines. Three of the four bystanders stepped easily out of the way but Raimundo was left high and dry. Or, high and wet, rather.

"Clay," the Brazilian whined, "Tell you girlfriend to keep it under control,"

"Hey she ain't my girlfriend," Clay shouted turning bright red.

"Yeah, I'm not his girlfriend and unless you want a mouthful of D chord, keep your trap shut," Carly was equally red in the face. She held the guitar tightly and dug in her heels. Raising her arm high, she struck the strings with her black and silver pick. A wave of shimmer rolled in Omi's direction and Carly had slid back about eight feet. Omi was tossed like a feather in a hurricane onto the roof of the grand hall. "I think I win," she shouted, "You gonna give up?"

"I have not yet begun to fight," he shouted back, "Ice!" Shards of ice like arrows flew at Carly. She placed her fingers at the top of the neck. She struck a chord similar to her first but this time slid her fingers all the way down the neck to the body. The chord swept up in pitch. The air shimmered again and the ice froze in midair. **(AN: Heh, heh, the ice froze…) **She flicked the head of the guitar forward and the shards turned and zipped back to the attacker. Before they impaled Omi, she plucked the sixth string. The icicles fell in a circle around Omi creating a cage.

"Give up yet?" she shouted the distance between them.

"Yes," there came a weak reply.

"Alright," Carly plucked the sixth string again and the ice rolled off the roof fell to the ground and shattered. Omi climbed down and came quickly over to the group.

"You win Charlemagne, you are the intercourse." He bowed respectfully.

"Thank you…wait, I'm the what?" She looked at the others who shrugged. After a second she figured it out. "Oh! I'm the sechs?"

"Yes, very much," he bowed again.

"Thanks," Carly said bowing in return and laughing softly. "That was a good attempt at taking on a Xiaolin Dragon. You fought well."

"You're Xiaolin Dragon?" Rai looked at her in disbelief. "That's not possible."

"Yes it is," she pulled down the neck of her jacket to show the bronze dragon on her neck.

"Ah yes, Charlemagne is a fully realized Dragon," Master Fung added.

"That's why you weren't sparring," Kimiko said, "It wasn't fair,"

"No, I just didn't want to make anyone cry," Carly said jokingly.

XxX Later that afternoon XxX

Everyone's belongings were strapped into Dojo along with the Shen Gong Wu.

"Why don't we just leave them here?" Rai asked pushing one of Kimiko's suitcases onto Dojo's back.

"That's a security risk, genius," Carly said walking out with a cello case, "While we're gone, anyone could walk right up to the temple and take all the Shen Gong Wu. A few minutes later, all were seated on the huge dragon's back. "You know the way, right Dojo?" Carly asked from the back.

"Of course," he replied, "It's only been ten years," Carly sighed. She put her arms around Clay's neck and rested her chin on his shoulder. His heart raced.

"I just love flying, don't you?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," He looked down at the farmland flying by. Honestly it made him dizzy but he didn't say anything.

XxX 20 minutes later XxX

"Are we there yet?" Raimundo whined.

"You've been asking that for ten minutes!" Carly shouted, "I'm gonna come over there if you ask it again,"

"And do what?"

"I haven't decided yet,"

"Whatever," he scoffed and was quickly asleep.

XxX An hour later XxX

Carly had switched positions and was leaning up against Clay's back. She was singing and drumming on her thighs.

"Look at me! I'm the king of New York. Suddenly, I'm respectable. Starin' right at cha, lousy with stature. Nobbin' with all the muckety-mucks. I'm blowin' my dough and goin' deluxe. And there I be. Ain't I pretty? It's my city! I'm the king of New York,"

"Oh will you shut up?" Rai yelled.

"I gotta be either dead or dreamin' 'cause look at that pape with my face beamin'. Tomorrow they may wrap fishes in it, but I was a star for one whole minute! Startin' now, I'm the king of New York!" She just sang louder.

"Oh, that is it!" Rai turned around, "I'm gonna come over there and-"

"And what?" she taunted, "It's a threat when I say it. When you say it, it's just a joke, Dragon in Training."

"Oh it's on!" he tried to scramble over the blockade that was Clay but was grabbed and held. Rai clawed at her as she searched through her instruments until she came out with a clarinet. She blew out a note and Raimundo went limp.

"Heck, what'd you do to 'im?" Clay asked holding Raimundo's unconscious body.

"Put him to sleep," she said. Clay laid him down carefully.

"Once a piker, now a striker. I'm the king of New York. Victory! Front page story, guts and glory, I'm the king of New York!" she recited before turning around again and leaning her head over Clay's shoulder.

XxX Maybe a couple hours later, give or take XxX

"Hey," Kimiko exclaimed. They all looked to see what looked like a city made of jade. Kind of like the Emerald City. It glowed in the sunset if an almost heavenly light.

"Welcome," Carly said, "To the Jade Temple," Dojo glided down into the open square. There was a jade dragon fountain in the center and about fifty teenagers were gathered in the square. Once Dojo set down, guards hustled up and relieved him of the baggage. He sighed happily. Once they were on their feet they looked around at the company before them. A second later, a pale blonde girl dressed in all white ran up to Carly and threw her arms around her.

"Ah, Carly!" she yelled, "It's so great to see you again." She spoke with a light Irish accent.

"Hey Scotty," Carly said hugging her back.

"So," she said looking at the motley crew beside her. "This is the temple you came with?"

"Yep," Carly said with a smile. "Guys, this is Scotty. She's from Ireland."

"Scotty Clove, Dragon of Light, happy to meet you," she said beaming as though she were the sun herself.

"Where's Aussie?" Carly asked after introductions were passed.

"He's somewhere, come on," Scotty pulled Carly through the crowd until they found a tall tan sandy haired boy with no shirt on and a pair of camouflage cargo pants on. Around his was a similar necklace to Carly's this one had a diamond of an eye.

"Aussie," she said throwing her arms around him. Clay glared at them, Rai saw and whispered, "Jealous, much?" "I ain't jealous," he growled through gritted teeth. "I just don't think he's very trustworthy." Truth was he was jealous but he'd never admit it. Kimiko meanwhile stared at him, dumbstruck.

"This is Steve, guys," Carly introduced them.

"G'day," he greeted them. Steven came to Clay and looked him over. "You the little roo, Clay, I've heard so much about?"

"I don't know what a 'roo' is, but I'm Clay," they shook hands. "Dragon of Earth,"

"Earth, that's nice. I'm thunder meself,"

"Speaking of which," Carly cut in, "Where's your ball and chain?"

"You mean Tori? Eh, she's around. 'Speed befriending' It's her little mingling game." Scotty looked at her watch.

"We gotta to go," she said pulling Carly and Steve away.

"Pleasure meatin' ya," Steve called.

"I'll see you guys later, okay?" Carly disappeared. Once they were gone, Kimiko started talking a mile a minute.

"Did you see him? That body, those muscles, his eyes, oh his hair. He's not a dragon, he's a dream!" Rai stood by fuming.

"Jealous very?" Omi asked smirking.

"It's 'much' Omi," Rai corrected, "And no, I'm not jealous. I'm really ticked off that she would fall for such a lame guy. It's like falling for an Australian version of Clay. She's so stupid sometimes." The group walked around for a while looking at the show of diversity. They didn't talk to anyone but by personalities, they figured out Dragon elements. Among the seen were two dragons of love, a boy and a girl, a dragon of steel, a dragon a shadow or darkness, and dragon of flora, plants, a dragon of fauna, animals, and a dragon of ice. After about a half hour, the chatter subsided and at the foot of, what might be the grand hall, there was a large (jade) stage placed in front of the steps. On the stage was a podium of jade, duh. Standing at the podium was woman of about thirty five. She had long dark hair that hung down behind her except for two long strands going down to her waist in the front. She wore green and white robes. Behind her were the five Dragons of the Jade Temple. Each wore a green robe with a black sash making them look like mere Dragons in Training, but their necks boasted bronze chokers, they were all Xiaolin Dragons. Three of the five were familiar, Carly Scotty and Steve. Carly stood with a flute held tightly in her hand. One of the others was Tori; Omi presumed it was the olive skinned girl standing close by Steve. The fifth was a short Indian girl with a long braid trailing down her back. The long haired woman spoke.

"Xiaolin Dragons in training, apprentices, and Dragons I welcome to the grand Jade Temple, your home for the next few days. I am Master Hei-Li. I wish to introduce you to the Dragons of the Jade Temple. Charlemagne, Dragon of Song," Carly bowed respectfully and played a slow five second bit on her flute. "Scotty, Dragon of Light," Scotty raised her hands up and though it was dark, it became suddenly bright as day. She put her arms down and it darkened again. "Steven and Victoria, the dragons of thunder and lightning," Tori raised a single finger and a bolt of white heat darted up into the night sky. Steve put his foot down hard and the ground shook. Kimiko swooned and fell down. There was a little applause for their show of power. Rai looked at Tori in curiosity while Kimiko stared in admiration. "And last but not least, Nisha, Dragon of Soul," (**AN: 'Nisha' means night in Indian)** The short Indian girl bowed slowly and did nothing else. Omi felt a little let down. _After the other's performances, I would expect more from a Dragon than just a bow._ The woman continued talking about no one was really listening. They all looked at the Dragons who had lost all forms of professionalism. Carly was pressing down random valves on her flute. Scotty was braiding a strand of her hair. Steve and Tori were talking away and giggling. Nisha fiddled with a string on the cuff of her robe. They looked like a bunch of normal teens now. The woman finished her speech with, "Now the Dragons will show you to your rooms," The chatter started up again. Carly was by their side in minutes.

"Miss me?" She asked with a smile. "C'mon I have other groups to show around too," They picked up a couple other groups of three to five people and Carly herded them into one of the many jade buildings. Other the next few minutes, Carly put people in rooms up and down a hallway until only the original four were left. "That's my room," she pointed to a green door, they were all green. "Uh, here's an empty one," The interior was, obviously, green. The plus side was that there were real beds, not mats. "Omi, do you want this one?"

"Of course, it would be most fo shnizzling," he walked into the room and Carly closed the door.

"Where did you find that kid?" she asked laughing.

"He found us. It's not our fault," Kimiko said.

"I'm not saying he's bad. He's hilarious, I love him," Rai and Kimiko were given rooms and soon there was just Clay and Carly. "Well, this is the last room," Clay looked around at the room, his belongings were there. "You need anything, just give a holler; I'm just across the hall," She closed the door. Clay yawned and fell back onto the bed. _This place is nice. A little too green though…._

**_Yay, it's finally done._** **_ I_** **_worked for days on this. And it's forever long, probably my longest chapter ever written. Hope you enjoyed. REVIEW! Much love to the TWO people who reviewed me. TWO! That is kinda lame…is my story that bad that only two people review. Jeez, is a simple review so much to freaking ask for?_**

_**Remember, **_

_**McMuffinDragon is watching you, so review!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_I got one review so that's nice so I'm gonna keep this going. The songs here are "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey and "Dancing Through Life" from Wicked. I don't own them. Freaking wish I did though. I have raised the story's rating for a later chapter, if anybody noticed._**

_**Chapter Four**_

Carly stood before her mirror brushing her rusty hair. She yawned widely and hummed along with the song blasting from her radio. _"Working hard to get my fill. Everybody wants a thrill. Payin' anything to roll the dice, just one more time. Some will win. Some will lose. Some were born to sing the blues. Oh, the movie never ends; it goes on and on and on and on." _There was a knock at her door. It was Clay. Once she opened the door, he turned red and pulled his hat down over his eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I won't look at you 'till yer decent," he replied shutting his eyes tightly.

"Wha-? I am decent," she said impatiently.

"Not if I can see down your cleavage you're not," his voice cracked in the middle of his sentence.

"Ugh, you're impossible. Your daddy drilled chivalry into your brain," She whipped off the camisole she'd been wearing. Clay raised his eyes for a second. She was digging through on of her bags with only a black bra on. Clay swallowed hard and closed his eyes again._ She's just yer friend. She's just yer friend. She's just yer friend. _He thought pushing down his hormones. _He's just your friend. He's just your friend. He's just your friend. _Carly thought on the other side of the room as she pulled on a dark blue shirt. "Okay, let's go," she brushed past him at started walking down the hall. Clay watched her walk. Her hips swayed. Her shoulders swayed. The long crimson ponytail hanging down her back swayed. Her whole body swayed hypnotically. She stopped and turned. "You coming?" she asked.

"Oh," he snapped back to consciousness, "Yeah," he walked quickly up to her and she started moving again. He followed slowly behind. Carly suddenly stopped and he collided with her. Unfortunately, she'd stopped at the top of a staircase. Both teens fell head over heels down the steps and landed at the bottom. Clay had landed on top of Carly who had a strand of her hair in her mouth. "Pffft," she spat out her hair. "You gonna get off of me?" she wheezed. Clay blushed and began to push himself up. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," he heard her whisper, and he'd been pushing his whole weight down on her chest.

"Sorry," he said lifting his hands and he fell on top of her again. She grunted.

"Just let me do it," she pushed her hands put lifting him just enough for her to slip out from under him. She got up and offered him her hand. "You always did have two left feet," she said laughing as she opened the door, and she once again, randomly started singing, "The trouble with schools is they always try to teach the wrong lesson. Believe me; I've been kicked out of enough of them to know. They want you to become less callow, less shallow. But I say, 'Why invite stress in?' Stop studying strife and learn to live the unexamined life. Dancing through life, skimming the surface, gliding where turf is smooth. Life's more painless for the brainless. Why think too hard? When it's so soothing, dancing through life no need to though it, when you can sluff it off as I do. Nothing matters, but knowing nothing matters. It's just life, so keep dancing through," They came to the Jade Dragon fountain in front of the grand hall. "Dancing through life, swaying and sweeping and always keeping cool. Life is fraught less, when you're thoughtless. Those who don't try, never look foolish, dancing through life, mindless and careless, make sure you wear less trouble in rife," She came up to the open doors of the hall and stopped, "Woes are fleeting, blows are glancing when you're dancing through life!" She belted out loudly. All the talking in the hall stopped and everyone looked at Clay and Carly. She found the table where all their friends were sitting and took a cushion. Eventually, the talking started up again.

"What was that?" Clay asked sitting beside her.

"I love making an entrance," she mumbled with a mouthful of rice. Clay rolled his eyes and looked at the occupants of the table around him. Rai was eating and glaring at Steve, who was being stared at by Kimiko, but Steve took no notice of the Japanese girl swooning over him, he was blushing furiously and chatting with Tori, who was only half listening for she was staring at Raimundo. _It's a love square. _Clay thought with a smile. Nisha and Omi were talking beside him about Nisha's powers or lack there of.

"So you are invulnerable?" Omi asked.

"Yes," Nisha nodded, "Why should one have great power and strength when one can't be hurt? It is most evil,"

"You mean it's wicked, honey," Carly prompted. "You're not on the Heylin side, are you?" She leaned over Clay and gave Nisha a fake surprised look.

"That is crazy," the Indian girl declared, "Why would I be? You are out of you head!"

"Okay, jeez, just meant it as a joke," Carly backed off.

"Hey you!" a shout came from across the room. There was a girl in a pink tank top trudging at them with a few other similarly dressed girls in tow. "What are you doing there?" She asked when she got to them crossing her arms across her chest.

"Eating, something _you_ obviously don't do," Carly retorted looking at the girl's sticklike figure, "And who wants to know?" She put down her bowl and stood up towering a foot above all the girls.

"The Supreme Dragon of Clouds," She declared pushing Carly roughly in the chest.

"Well, Supreme Dragon of Clouds," she said in a high pitched mocking tone, "This is _my_ temple and _I_ will sit where I damn well please. So move it missies!"

"But I want _this_ table," She shrieked stomping her foot.

"Listen, you ain't the Queen of the World," Carly snapped pushing the blonde girl back in the chest harder, "So deal with not gettin' whatcha want. This is my table, or I should say _our _table," She turned her head, "Anyone wanna back me up here?" She whispered. "Clay? I'd look a whole lot better here with a little muscle behind me," Clay shook his head. "Rai?" she asked pleadingly. He shrugged and stood by her.

"What's goin' on?" Scotty came up.

"Stand with me," Carly said grabbing her arm. Over a minute, the other people at the table stood; Tori, Steve, Kimiko, Nisha and Omi, until only Clay remanded on the floor. Carly took a half step back and grabbed Clay's hand. "You don't have to fight, I swear, just stand," Clay got up and with seven others standing behind her, she spoke to the Dragon of Clouds again, "Go find another table, Prissy. This one's taken," As a response, the girl picked up a bowl of rice and dumped it over Carly's head, much to Raimundo's amusement. Carly flopped back into her seat and started shaking the rice out of her hair, "It's just like high school; I have something in my hair and everyone acts like they're five years old,"

"Look," Omi said excitedly, "I drew a doggie!" He held up a piece of paper he'd gotten from nowhere, it had a dog on it.

"Except Omi," Carly finished, "Who acts like he's three,"

"Oh, Carly," Scotty said reaching into her bag, "I almost forgot, I got you that Newsies hat you wanted from New York" she said bringing out a black cap and handing it to her. Carly squealed with delight and took the hat. She whipped her hair out of the ponytail and placed the cap just so on her head so it covered one of her glowing amber eyes. She threw her arms around Scotty's neck.

"Thanks _sooooo_ much!" She squealed.

"So," Rai said to Tori, "What are we supposed to do all day? The masters are having their conference,"

"We get to do whatever we want," Tori answered with gleaming eyes, "This is like a vacation. We're free,"

"Really?" Kimiko asked intrigued.

"Mm hm," Scotty said nodding and taking a cream colored cap similar to Carly's out of her bag. "We get a few days of rest and relaxation at our wonderful sanctuary,"

"Yes," Nisha agreed, "Let us show you the strings,"

"The ropes," the other four dragons corrected.

"Your road chat is the sewers," she said.

"Our street talk is the pits?" Steve asked.

"Very much so,"

"Okay," Carly closed the conversation, "I'm gonna go get some jeans on and I'll meet y'all later 'kay?" She got up and started walking out. One by one everybody left.

"C'mon Steve," Kimiko said making a move, "Why don't you show me around?"

"Oh," he said a little surprised, "I was gunna take a walk with Tori. Isn't that right?" he turned to her.

"Well, I wanted to show Raimundo around the temple," she edged close to him.

"No thanks," he growled.

"Oh, okay," she took Steve's arm, "Let's go," They walked out of the hall. Kimiko followed soon after with a lachrymose air about her. Once they were gone Rai turned to Clay.

"How do I tell her?" he asked, "She's crazy about that Steve guy but he doesn't even see her. How unfair is that?"

"You gotta tell her outright. Who knows? Maybe she feels the same,"

"No I can't do that. She doesn't like me like I like her. Not like you and Carly though,"

"What?" Clay leaned over and looked at Rai.

"Nothing, I'm just saying you and Carly are perfect together while Kim and me just aren't meant to be."

"Perfect together? You sayin' I like her? I don't like her," he looked away. His heart was pounding in his ears. He felt his face growing red.

"Clay, it's so obvious. You get all nervous and clumsy like around her. You'd have to be deaf and blind not to notice. You've gone past just liking her, you're flat out hat over spurs in love with that chick," Rai crossed his arms triumphantly. In a flash, Clay seized the front of Rai's shirt and pulled him across the table.

"If you tell a soul," he growled, "I'll make sure you'll never be able to tell anyone anything ever again. It just so happens, I _do_ love her, but I can't tell her 'cause it'll wreck our friendship. Carly doesn't deserve to be called a babe or a chick or a dame or any of your other little names for girls. No girl deserves one of your little nicknames. Girls are worth more than that," He dropped Rai who dusted himself off and muttered, "Jeez, didn't know you were such a feminist," "What was that?" Clay asked.

"Nothing," Rai said sliding off the table and getting up, "I'm gonna go for a walk," Rai strode out leaving Clay sitting alone at the empty table in the empty hall. After a little wandering around, Rai found Carly sitting by a blue green lake under the shade of a tree humming to herself. "Hey Carly, can I ask you a question?" Rai asked sitting beside her.

"You just did," She said with a smile.

"I mean another one,"

"Shoot," she leaned up against the tree and closed her eyes.

"Well, it goes like this. I have a friend and he likes other friend of mine. And he wants to tell her but she's chasing after another friend of mine, and that friend doesn't like the friend that my friend likes. And my friend knows it. So my friend wants to tell the friend he likes how he feels about her but he doesn't think she likes him back…what should my friend do?" He finished with his arms wrapped around his knees.

"Well, I think you need to tell Kimiko how you feel right out because Steve certainly doesn't like her. Oh, and I'd keep my eye out for Tori, she's taken a liking to you,"

"What?" He stared at her relaxed face completely dumbstruck.

"Oh please, those 'I have a friend' stories are so fake, plus it's written all over your face," She picked up a stone and skipped it across the glassy lake surface.

"Then, can I ask you something else?" Rai asked. _Clay may not want me to tell her but I'm gonna._ He thought. Carly nodded. "Okay, I have another friend, and he loves another friend of mine. But he won't tell her 'because he thinks she won't be his friend anymore if he tells her," Carly sat for a few minutes in silence, a slightly puzzled look on her face. She was trying to piece together the real life equivalents of the "two friends". After a couple of minutes, a name softly passed her lips.

"Clay…" She turned to Raimundo, "Is it Clay?" He nodded. "He…loves me?" She asked; he nodded. She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. "That's real nice," she whispered with a little smile on her lips. Around the corner from the tree and the lake, Clay stood listening to them. _That little sneak!_ He thought. _He told her, oh she's gunna think I'm such a dope…_

"Do you love him too?" Rai poked the question cautiously at her.

"Yeah," Carly said softly with a dreamy look in her eyes, "Yeah I do,"

"Well, I'm gonna go for a walk," Rai said getting up. He'd seen Clay standing around the corner. "See ya later Carly," he began walking to Clay, "It's okay," he whispered. The Texan looked like he was about to strangle the smaller boy. "She's crazy about you too. All you gotta do now is go talk to her," He pushed Clay out from behind the wall and gave him a grin and a big thumbs up. The large blonde boy walked down the small hill to where Carly was sitting still staring off into space. He cleared his throat loudly and she jumped.

"Hi Clay," she said nervously, "You wanna sit with me?" Clay sat close by her and she edged away a little bit.

"That's a right purdy lake," Clay said trying to make small talk.

"Yeah, this is one of my favorite places in the whole temple," Without warning, Clay grabbed Carly's shoulder wheeled her to face him and kissed her square on the lips. She put her arms around his neck. After a minute the need for air became too great. The two teens separated gasping for breath. Carly put her head on his shoulder. "I love you Clay Bailey," she whispered.

"I love you too Carly Shale," he said putting his arm around her waist.

**And it stops…there. Did everyone like it? Yes, I'm getting to the RaiXKim. I just moved so, sorry about the wait. My house pwns! http/ That's a picture of it, copy and paste. Review, review, review! **

**And remember,**

**McMuffinDragon is watching you! **


	5. Chapter 5

**_Four reviews, you guys are getting better. This chapter is a graduation and birthday gift from me to me. Start excepting sooner updates now that my academic year is almost finally over. I still have another whole freaking week of school but that'll fly by. Maybe…_**

_**Ah, ah, ah, ah, Chapter Five, Chapter Five, ah, ah, ah, ah, Chapter FI-I-I-IVE!**_

**_That is a cheep imitation of "Stayin' Alive" _**

"Do you think they are dead?" Clay heard Nisha's voice.

"I do not think so," there came Omi's voice. Someone poked Clay in the side and he groaned. "Oh, Clay, you are not deceased. That is a relief," Clay opened his eyes to see Omi and Nisha beaming down at him, but the bright late morning sun shadowed their faces. Clay shifted and sat up. There was a soft feminine moan and something slid down his arm. He looked to his right; it was Carly lying on her front. Asleep. He'd fallen asleep with a girl. He nudged her a bit; she groaned again and lifted herself up.

"What?" she asked irritably glaring at him.

"How long we were asleep?" he asked back. Carly pushed up her sleeve to see her watch. She stared at it for several minutes trying to make sense of it.

"I think…" she began still looking at the watch, "Three hours?"

"Well," Omi began as he and Nisha started walking away, "We have much making in to do," The two of them turned their backs and were soon out of view.

Once Carly figured what Omi had said she yelled after them, "Too much information!" She turned to Clay, "Wanna go see a sparring?"

"Sure," he replied. She quickly pulled him away back toward the jade dragon fountain.

XxX With Raimundo XxX

"Kim, can I talk to you?" Rai asked her as she sat on the branch of a tree watching Tori and Steve from a distance.

"Sure Rai, what about?" She kept her eyes on the two dragons on the stone bench fifty feet away.

"Well," he began but fell silent, "I…" he trailed off, "It's just that-no…" Rai couldn't even form the sentence in his head.

After another couple failed attempts, Kimiko took her eyes off the Aussie and Grecian and looked down at the Brazilian boy on the ground, "What are you trying to say?"

Rai sighed and started all over speaking slowly, "I don't think that,"-he took a pause-"That Steve likes you like the way that you like him," He stopped for a whole minute then, when Kim showed no signs of killing him, kept talking, "I think he likes that Tori girl like the way that you like him," _You sound like such an idiot! _He yelled at himself, _She's never gonna talk to you again,_

Kimiko did talk to him again, "You're just jealous," she said watching the other two again, "That Steve's just a better guy than you," Rai saw the two figures get up off the bench and start walking again, "They're moving. I gotta go, Rai," she said nimbly jumping off the branch, "I can't get too far behind," She left him leaning against the strong old tree with a hurt expression on his face.

XxX With Carly and Clay XxX

The blonde girl raised her arms in defense to several spears of ice flying her way. A wall of shining light materialized in front of her and the shards shattered and fell to the dirt floor of the sparring circle. She swung her right up a diagonal to the left. Her left arm swung up diagonal right. Right arm diagonal left. Left arm diagonal right. Four boomerang shapes of radiance zipped at the gothic girl on the other side of the circle. One hit her legs knocking her to the ground. Once she was down, before she could rise, the other three pinned her down. The stringy gangly bandy-legged African boy crouched on the sidelines ran up to the pale Irish girl. He raised her arm and shouted, "Victor! The Dragon of Light!" All cheered particularly Carly who was already by her friend's side.

"Damn good job, Scotty," she said lightly punching her in the arm.

"'Tis nuthin'" She crossed the field and offered a hand to her fallen opponent. "Twas a good fight,"

The girl got up on her own. She dusted off her black clothes and brushed her greasy black hair, which hung in sheets, out of her face. "Whatever," she muttered shoving her hands in her pockets in skulking away.

"Weirdo," Carly said quietly.

"Aye," The Irish girl agreed.

The two girls returned to Clay who was talking to the African boy who'd refereed. "So you can talk to animals?" he asked in interest.

"Yes," the other boy nodded.

"Let's see it then," the Texan challenged. The dark-skinned boy made a short bird call. A noble stately hawk came in quick response. He offered his arm to the bird that perched with chest puffed out in pride. The boy too puffed out his chest and gave a big ear to ear Omi-like smile. Clay was unconvinced, "That just looks like bird calling. Can you really talk to it?" The other boy sighed and turned to the bird of prey on his arm. He gave it what you could guess were instructions. The bird flew off again and was soon gone.

"What's it doing?" Scotty asked him.

"It's gone to find the Dragon who brought me here," he replied matter-of-factly.

"And that is…?" Carl asked.

"I think her name was Victoria, but I am not sure,"

XxX With Tori and Steve and Kimiko XxX

"Do you have the feeling we're being watched?" Tori asked her companion. He shook his head.

"Nobody else here but that hawk," he pointed at the dark fowl sitting in a tree. Without any warning, it swooped down and grabbed Tori's sky blue shirt and attempted to pull her in the direction from which it had come. She started screaming bloody murder. "Calm down!" Steve shouted over her, "I think it just wants you to follow it," Tori began moving with the bird; it let her go and began flying fast. They had to run to keep up. Kimiko was not far behind, still stalking them. Raimundo followed, stalking Kimiko.

The hawk brought them to the sparring pavilion where Scotty, Carly and Clay stood with a tall African boy. The hawk perched on the boy's arm. "I told you so," the dark skinned boy said to Clay with a look of defiance.

"I know when I'm beat," the blonde replied scratching his head.

"Hey Tori," Carly picked up the conversation, "How's your day been?" Tori said it'd been fine but Carly wasn't really listening. Something had caught her eye. She saw over Tori's shoulder that Kimiko was approaching the pavilion; out farther off she saw the unmistakable shape of Raimundo.

Kimiko came up to them. She began talking as though she'd just come there by chance, "Oh, hi Steve. I haven't seen you all day," she was clearly lying but Steve didn't pick up on it.

"Oh, yeah," he replied with an awkward smile, "G'day, uh, what's your name again?"

Kimiko tried to keep a smile on her face, but there was a sad disappointed undertone in her expression and she said, "Kimiko," through slightly gritted teeth. He nodded and greeted her properly. Meaningless small talk quickly ensued in which Kimiko's coy behavior began to vex Tori and Scotty. Carly seemed unaffected by the flirtatious behavior and high pitched giggling coming from the direction of the Japanese girl. She talked pleasantly with Steve, the subject of the conversation wasn't clear but it could have been the weather, "I can feel it," Steve said, "Tori can too," The girl by his side was locked in a glaring contest with Kimiko, "Something big is coming. There's a lot of electricity in the air. Stuff like that happens before something like this," Carly stood nodding politely. She was really paying attention to Raimundo who had come closer to the group standing under the pavilion. The African boy had left with his hawk quite a while ago, disappearing without a word. Clay and Steve had begun talking about their lives back home. "My dad runs a diving business off the Barrier Reef. I'm a guide for first timin' blokes,"

"My daddy runs a beef ranch, been ropin' the lil doggies since I was nine," The talk continued on. Scotty listening politely; Carly had snuck off somewhere. Tori and Kimiko were still locked in glaring combat.

Raimundo watched the whole affair without much interest. True, he wanted to go down and join them but Kim would know he'd been following her. He was so busy swimming in his musings that when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he jumped five feet in the air. It was only Carly. "Got a problem, honey?" she asked with a happy but concerned look in her amber eyes.

After steadying his mile a minute heartbeat, Raimundo glumly told Carly what had happened when he'd tried to talk to Kimiko. "…And she says I'm just jealous of Steve, and I still want to tell her how I feel but I know she won't listen," he sighed dejectedly.

"Rai, you gotta get over this. I'm gonna do you a favor, I'll get everyone else to leave, then you make your move and tell Kim," She got up and in a flash was gone. He saw her reappear by the group under the pavilion. "Hey Tori," she said to the olive skinned girl who snapped her gaze from Kimiko and set it on the red head.

"Yes, Carly?" she asked.

"I found the greatest little amulet at a Druid temple in Scotland. I got it for you; it's up in my room. Why don't you go get it?" At the prospect of jewelry, Tori pulled Steve away. Luckily, Kimiko didn't follow.

"Carly," Scotty leaned in to her friend, "there aren't any Druid temples in Scotland."

"There's no amulet either," the other girl replied with a smirk. She pulled Clay down into their little huddle and whispered, "Make up a reason to leave. Rai's gonna make his move on Kimiko once we're gone," she said rather loudly, "I feel like playing a little flute, so I'm gonna go get it," She walked casually away. Scotty soon followed saying she'd left her hat in the grand hall. She trotted off in the same direction as Carly. Clay gave a huge fake yawn, mumbled something about catching a few Z's and lumbered off in Raimundo's direction.

Clay saw Rai leaned nervously against a tree. He went up and punched the smaller boy playfully in the arm. "Go get 'er, partner," he pushed the Brazilian in the direction of the jade pavilion where Kimiko sat fiddling with one of the braids her hair was in. Raimundo took a couple of bold steps at Clay turned his back to start walking away.

Raimundo came up to Kim and sat by her. He sighed. "Is something wrong?" she asked leaving her black hair half braided hanging down her shoulder.

"Well," Rai began, "What would you do if you liked someone, but you didn't want to tell them?"

"I would suck it up and tell them; honesty is a great qual-" Rai cut her 'ity' off with a kiss on her soft pink lips. _What the hell do you think you're doing? _His thoughts screamed. After only five second of bliss and ecstasy, Kimiko raised her hand and gave Raimundo a smack across his tan face. She scrambled away and stood up spitting and wiping her lips. "I can't believe you just did that!" she spat out eventually. "Raimundo Pedrosa, you are the sickest boy I have ever met!" Her words burned holes in his soul like venom. She stormed off. Raimundo brought his knees up to his chest. He rested his forehead on them feeling like he was going to cry.

_**Not the RaiXKim you expected, huh? Things may sort themselves out…I haven't decided yet. I'm just gonna stop here because I'm really tired and I have a German test tomorrow. Wish me luck and review!**_

_**Until Next Time,**_

**_McMuffinDragon is watching you! _**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hello my reading monkey slaves. -Laughs maniacally until smacked upside the head- Sorry about that…uh…here's a new chapter! -Laughs some more-**_

**_For those keeping score at home, we're on Chapter Six…and mental health professionals are on their way to take you to the Happy Place_**

Carly sat patiently with Raimundo clinging to her jacket crying. Clay and Scotty sat on Raimundo's other side, both already had soaked shoulders. "Raimundo," Carly eventually said, "What are you crying about again? I forgot." This was met with a wail and louder sobbing. She sighed and patted the boy on the back. "We have to do something," she mouthed over to the others who nodded.

"Don't worry, Rai," Clay pried his friend off of Carly and patted him hard on the back, "We'll find you another lil lady," he gave Rai a big smile. "Plenty of cows in the herd,"

"None with sky blue eyes like Kimiko," he fell onto his Texan friend and began crying again.

Carly's neutral sympathetic look hardened into a determined scowl. She stood, yanked Raimundo onto his feet and whirled him around to face her. "What is your problem?" she shouted in his tear streaked face. Before he could answer, she drill-sergeant brigade went on, "Do you know what a girl does when her heart gets shattered?" there was a twang of pain in her voice, almost as if she spoke from personal experience, "A girl sits around for days crying and sobbing about their ex. She calls her best friend at two in the morning sobbing uncontrollably because 'their song' came on the radio. That best friend is then forced through the nine levels of hell until the dumped find another 'soul mate' then there's a while of happiness and peace for the friend, until the inevitable break up rears its ugly head and the whole thing starts all over again." She stopped and there was an angry fire in her amber eyes. Through pure guess, she was 'the friend'. "Do you know what a guy does?" she returned to her original subject, "After being dumped and disrespected, he'll be sad for a while, sure, she was a nice girl, but it wasn't meant to be. And they're over it, like that." she snapped her fingers, "They pick themselves up and go out into the world and find somebody else. So, Rai," Her eyes drilled holes into his. "Are you a girl? Or a guy? 'Cause you're really girling out on us right now." She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for his reply.

Raimundo stood and ran her rant through his head. Just like she'd said, he **was** acting like a total girl. He **could** find someone else. Hell, he'd find someone better than Kim. "You're right, Carly!" he said smiling. "I'll find a better girl. This place is full of eligible ladies,"

"Okay, you go out there and get 'em, tiger!" She pushed him off like a baby bird from it's nest. They all watched as the confident Brazilian boy trudged away and turned the corner. "I think my motivational speech worked too well," Carly said a little bit worried.

"Yeah," Scotty said, "He's gonna come back with slap marks all over his face," All three had a good laugh at her words.

XxX Hey, let's check up on Raimundo's "Girl Search" XxX

"So you like soccer, too?" he was talking to the dragon of steel, a girl of medium height and weight, nothing really special, except her hair which was black streaked with silver and gray, she had similar eyes.

"Yep," she replied, "Not my favorite sport though, my favorite is curling, eh." She was from Canada. **AN: Curling is like the national sport of Canada, it's the one with the ice and the brooms. **

"Interesting," Rai said beginning to lose interest, "Well, it was nice talking to you." He got up, "We'll have to do it again sometime," He quickly walked away. Tori found him.

"She's really pretty, you know,"

"Who?"

"Kimiko," Tori said. "I can see why you like her so much."

"Yeah…" They both kept walking, taking no care in their destination.

"You don't like me, do you?" Tori said after a while of silence.

"What? No, I like you,"

"But not in the way I like you. That's the only reason I've been hanging around with Steve, I want Kimiko to be jealous of me so she'll go to you. I wish you only the best,"

"So you're trying to hook Kim up with me?" he asked. She nodded glumly. "That's really nice." He put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm trying, but I don't think it's working," she sat on a bench and Rai sat beside her, "She's too interested in Steve. I can't get her mad enough to leave him alone."

"Hey, I've got an idea," Rai leaned over and began to whisper his plan in the Grecian's ear.

XxX Later…. XxX

"Okay," Raimundo said. He and Tori stood in the doorway of the grand hall looking at their friends eating dinner and sitting at their usual table. "You ready?" She nodded and he picked her up newlywed style. She put her arms around his neck. "This had better work," he muttered. They both put on big fake smiles and Rai walked into the hall laughing as loud as he could. Everyone looked at them, perfect. He strode right up to the table and put the girl down. "I can't believe that!" he faked having heard some unbelievable story. "That is hilarious." He sat down beside her and put an arm around his shoulder. He glanced at the others at the table. Omi and Nisha were exchanging light kisses and giggling, doing their own thing basically. Carly and Clay looked at Rai and Tori in puzzlement. Scotty seemed to have figured it out and was looking at Kimiko and Steve. Kimiko had a bit of an angry look on her, still pissed at Rai clearly, but there was a bit of relief. Probably that Rai was leaving her alone. Steve had a look of disbelief and shock that he was desperately trying to hide. Damn, the opposite of what he wanted. "So Kimiko," he hissed, "How was your day?"

"Fine," she snapped, "Except for you trying to molest me," she glared at him. He back away. The rest of the meal passed in awkward silence. At some point, Nisha and Omi disappeared. Carly muttered something about studying for a chemistry test and skipped away. Scotty yawned and wandered away; Clay soon followed. Tori pulled Steve outside to talk with him and Rai was left alone with Kimiko again. Just before she got up, Rai grabbed her arm.

"Can I talk to you, Kim?" he asked pulling her back down. She glared at him for a second, but then softened her expression a bit and nodded. He sighed. "I'm really sorry about earlier. I just…"-there was an awkward pause for a whole minute-"…like you, a lot, like you more than just friendship." He put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off and turned away a bit.

"I don't know what to say to that," she whispered. "I need sometime to think." She got up and quickly walked away before Raimundo could stop her.

Clay lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. He was tired, but he couldn't sleep. Carly had her stereo blasting on across the hall. If it were anybody else, he would've got over and given them a piece of his mind, but it was Carly. He got up and walked across the hall. _"You're so nineteen-ninety! And it's nineteen-ninety-four! Leave this world behind me 'cause you don't want me anymore." _The slightly muffled music sang. He pounded on the door. There was shuffling of papers for a second then the soft patter of feet, and Carly opened the door. The music flowed out into the hall like a poisonous gas, even louder than before. "Can you turn that down?" Clay shouted. She nodded and disappeared for a second, the music was now almost too soft to hear. But that didn't matter anymore; she pulled him onto the room and shut the door with a snap. She turned to face him. One of the straps of her camisole had slid down her arm; Clay reached forward and pushed it back onto her shoulder. Carly threw her arms around his neck and pulled his body up against hers. Their lips met suddenly. She swept her tongue across his lips begging entrance, which he gladly granted. Their kiss deepened. Both tongues wandered and tasted new mouths. She moaned softly as he put his arms around her. Clay left her lips and left a trail of soft delicate kisses down Carly's neck and across her collarbone. He stopped completely and looked his love in her eyes. She looked puzzled as to why he'd stopped. Clay took a deep breath and asked, "Can I sleep with you tonight?" Carly detangled her body from his and took a step away, her face was bright red. "What's wrong?" he put his arms around her waist from behind. "We've slept together before, don't ya remember?"

"Well yeah," she removed Clay's arms like a belt and turned to face him. "But, we were six years old; this is a little bit different."

"I won't do anything if you don't want it, I promise," he took her hands in his. "So?" She was quiet for a moment but answered with a small kiss.

"Just for tonight," She swiftly crossed the room and cleared the bed of the binders, text books and papers. "Can you believe my dad still wants me to learn a standard high school curriculum?" She climbed into bed with Clay and snapped off the light. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She nuzzled his neck and her finger followed random patterns across his bare chest. Her breath slowed and her hand rested. Clay stared at the ceiling again, but now with his girlfriend by his side. Clay'd never thought he'd call Carly his girlfriend. The radio was still on, but very, very faint. _"Forever love, say you'll love, Dígame, Dígame. Tell me so; I can hold you in my soul. If I go, I'll know…" _He drifted off into a deep dreamless sleep.

**_Okay, those songs were Shoebox by none other than Barenaked Ladies, and Forever Love_ (_Dígame) by Anna Nalick, it's a really slow pretty song so I wanted to use it. I hope that make out scene didn't totally suck because I'm not great at that stuff. It took me like three days to write this chapter, I kept getting distracted by the visualizations on my Windows Media Player. Unlike the lie I told last chapter, updates will now REALLY be more frequent. Now if you will excuse me, I really need some sleep. R&R_**

_**And remember,**_

**_McMuffinDragon is watching you! _**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Out of all the stories my n'iamgination had forced me to write, this story has the most words. 12,703 words. Holy crap, okay? That's a lot of words for me to have the patience to actually type and not just think up in my head. Okay onward to add more words to my story!_**

_**Holy Crap, Seven Chapters? Really?**_

"**_There are moments when you just have to walk away and cry."–Lou Angeli_**

Clay woke up to the sun in his face. He looked at the bed next to him; there was a note where Carly had been. He picked it up.

_Clay-_

_Went to breakfast early, see you there._

_XOXO_

_Carly_

Clay got up and went back to his room to get dressed.

…Meanwhile….

"Carly, it's just worse now." Steve whispered to her so no one else would hear. "Something's going to happen today."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Do I look unsure to you? I'm sorry, Carly, but I'm really worried 'bout this. You were the Shoku back when we were in training. What should we do?"

"Well, we should probably start spreading the word and stop just whispering to each other." She began talking to everyone at the table. "Hey guys, Steve and Tori think something is gonna happen soon, so I believe it wise if we tell everyone to be on guard," Clay suddenly burst in.

"There's an army of monsters outside!" he shouted. Everyone ran to the door to look outside. Sure enough marching up to the temple were the most fearsome of magical creatures. Dojo slithered up to them.

"Did I forget to mention that a new Shen Gong Wu revealed itself?" he chuckled nervously, "The Book of Demons allows its user to summon an army of monsters. Heh, heh."

"Is this what you were talking about?" Carly asked Steve.

"Yeah." he said breathlessly staring in amazement.

"Okay," Carly addressed the crowd of teenagers who were beginning to talk. "This is what we're gonna do: Xiaolin Dragons are going to stay here and fight. Dragons in training, Apprentices, and Wudai Warriors, you're going to the jade mines to wait out the battle. We will come and get you when it's safe." There was roaring disapproval.

"Shut up!" Tori screamed, "She was the Shoku leader of this temple. Her judgment far out ranks all of you."

"Nisha," Carly called over the crowd, "Lead all the non-Dragons to the mines." Everyone was quickly gone without a fight. Not counting the four Jade temple dragon, there were seven others left. "Is this seriously all we have?" Carly asked in disbelief. "Okay, who are you?" She asked a brown haired girl with bright green eyes.

"Laurel, Dragon of flora."

"You?"

"I'm Dan, Dragon of Energy." A short boy with cropped black hair.

"You?"

"Mallory, Dragon of Steel."

"You?"

"Quinn, Dragon of shadow." A medium height thin boy with short blonde.

"You?"

"Mein namen es Kass, Dragon auf Dream." He was a large German boy built like a wall.

"You?"

"Violet, Dragon of Love." A beautiful girl with long dark brown hair and deep blue eyes.

"Oh crud, not you."

"Delilah, Dragon of Clouds." It was none other than the blonde girl Carly had gotten in to a fight with the day before.

"Now you listen here and you listen well. I am your superior in this fight. You will obey my commands with no question or sass crap, got it?" They glared at each other for a minute until Delilah nodded reluctantly. There was a crash outside and all eleven dragons ran to the doors again. An immense twenty foot tall Cyclops had smashed a huge hole in the gate. "Damn," Carly muttered. They all rushed down the stairs in time to see a red haired boy fly in with a heli-pack.

"Wuya said there'd be more than eleven of you. Oh well, evil army attack!" A host of smaller beasts sprinted forward at the Dragons: chimera, fachen, Fenrir, and harpies, just as a few. Carly quickly found one of the chimeras charging at her. The mouths of its three heads snapped at her. The snake hissed, the lion roared and the goat bleated. She had no instrument, she couldn't attack it. She jumped and landed on its back. The snake head, the most limber of the three, reared around and bared huge fangs at her. She seized it and tied the neck into a knot. The head fell down unless to the creature's side. Carly then took a fistful of the lion's mane and one of the goat's horns and began steering it around trampling other monsters. She turned her ride to see Steve cornered by some sort of seal-hippo thing, a bunyip. She urged the chimera forward. She pulled up on the lion so its teeth were bared and pushed down on the goat so its horns would hit. The two beasts crashed. The teeth and horns of the chimera were embedded into the think skin of the bunyip. It turned away from the boy to its attacker. Carly leapt off and picked up the deceased snake head and smacked the bunyip with it like a horse crop. The beast roared and ran off dragging its tri-headed parasite in the dirt. Carly ran over and helped Steve up. "You're getting attacked by your own heritage." She laughed.

"Shut up," he muttered.

"I gonna go get something to fight with, I'll be back." She ran off through the chaos watching how the other Dragons fought. They were amazing. Laurel shot long vines of ivy at a horde of kappa. Quinn placed his hand on the ground and a wave of blackness rolled out in all directions; it sucked up everything then dissipated. Everything that had been held in the shadow was gone. Kass seemed to use his own physical strength in place of Dragon powers. Delilah lifted large creatures, chiefly ogres and a couple of golems, on large soft fluffy clouds and threw them over the wall. Carly sprinted up to her room and seized her violin. She ran back downstairs eager to get back to the fight.

…..Meanwhile, in the jade mines……

"Looks like a heck of a fight down there." Clay said from the mouth of the cave.

"Are they winning?" Kimiko asked sitting among the other non-Dragons.

"Can't say of certain." He said turning away and lumbering back to the others.

"We can't just sit here," Rai said getting up, "We have to go help them."

"No Rai," Kim said pulling him down again, "Let's not have a repeat of last time."

"Yeah partner, Carly told us to stay up. We should obey and just wait here. I'm sure they're doin' just fine."

XxXxXxX

"Oh man, we're fucking screwed!" Carly said as she and the other ten Xiaolin Dragons crouched in the space between the grand hall and another building whose purpose isn't important. Her violin had been stolen and no doubt smashed.

"What makes you say that?" Delilah asked.

"Are you fucking serious?" she hissed, "Look out there!" They all stared at the destruction being caused by some of the most famous monsters in history: The Kraken, the Leviathan, the Hydra, multiple dragons and wyverns, Cerberus, sphinx, Scylla, Cetus, giants, goblins, gorgons, a few Manticore, a minotaur, Redcaps and a Roc, just naming some. The jade dragon fountain had been torn to pieces and the water pipe still sprayed into the air. The water drizzled down and kept the aquatic monsters hydrated so they could continue to smash and destroy the temple. "Look at that and tell me we're not screwed."

"Let's just go back to the caves, Carly." Steve said. "We're done." The defeated teens crept quietly back to the jade caves.

"You're back." Clay greeted them, "Did ya win?"

"No, we retreated. The monsters are still out there. We can't win." Carly sighed and sat by Clay. She put her head on his shoulder and groaned in pain. She was soaked with sweat and two long deep scratch marks ran down her face. Dojo slithered up again.

"You know," he began, "Now that the Book of Demons has revealed itself, its contrary Shen Gong Wu, the Book of Angels, should become known very soon. Very soon meaning now. Come on, it's the only thing that can beat these guys." Three of the four apprentices rose and climbed onto the now large dragon, except Clay who still sat with Carly leaning against him.

"Go ahead, Clay," she said as she struggled to sit up, "We'll be fine." He got up and climbed onto Dojo's back. They took off to retrieve the one thing that could stop the squadron of evil.

_**I'm freaking tired. I did two days of research for this and the next chapter. Head's up, this story is only going to have about four more chapters, five tops. Anyway, I'm fallin' asleep on my keyboard now so I'm gonna finish it; don't hate me for the Cliffie. R&R**_

_**And remember,**_

**_McMuffinDragon is sleeping, I mean, watching you! _**


	8. Chapter 8

**_Sorry y'all. I forced myself to take some time off because for a while I was completely addicted to fanfiction, I had a problem. I admit it. Anyway I'm back with more story-y goodness. PS: I figured, just for laughs, I'd give all the creatures funny accents so I apologize for any difficulty in comprehension that was experienced._**

**_Songs: Barrel of a Gun-Guster and Listen to Your Heart-Roxette or D.H.T., which ever you should choose and Center of Attention also by Guster, if you don't know who Guster is, I highly recommend them._**

"**_He that fights and runs away may live to fight another day."_**

_**-Traditional Proverb**_

"There it is!" Kimiko exclaimed pointing at a low to the ground tree with many boughs. Nestled in the shaded branches was an old leather-bound beat up book about a foot long and three inches thick. Omi hopped off the dragon and grabbed it.

They returned to the Jade Temple and were met by a few blasts of fire from massive red dragons sitting on the temple's wall. Dojo evaded the heat and took for the caves. All five ran inside. Carly sat contently drumming on her thighs and singing while Nisha tried to bandage her scratches. "Four, three, two, one. When at the barrel of a gun, keep my head way down. Stay out, I'll stay in."

Could you stop moving please?" the small Indian girl asked her, "It makes this most challenging."

"Sure thing, dear." She stopped drumming on her legs but continued to belt out her song. "Half dead, half numb, she's enough to make me warm. It's all so safe and sound."

"When I say stop moving, I mean stop the singing!" Nisha roared.

"You could have just asked then." Carly smiled and sat quietly as Nisha finished.

"We have obtained the Shen Gong Wu." Omi declared to the cave's occupants.

"That's great, Omi." Carly said standing, "Rev it up so we can take back the temple." Omi opened the book. It was an illustration of many noble magical beings and creatures.

"Book of Angels!" Omi shouted. There was a gust of wind and a flash of bright light. When the flash dies down they saw before them a host of radiant beings: massive golden griffins, glowing unicorns, handsome men with large white wings who glowed with a heavenly light, hippogryphs, a phoenix, centaurs and rising up in the back was a huge creature much like a hippo called Behemoth, the arch nemesis of the Leviathan.

"Wow," Carly said beholding them. "You must've been in there for-"

"Fifteen hun'urd years, Toots, and lemme tell ya, it wadn't no pahty." A gruff black centaur growled at her. "Bein' wit them fah so long." He jerked his head at the angels who glared back.

"'Cuse me?" one of them said, "Weah unpleasant, guvnah? What 'bout you lot wit your wild parties and target practice?"

"Least we don't drink tea twenty fouah seven." He retorted.

"Vat be vrong vit der tea?" an auburn hippogryph asked, "Du are die abvnoxious ones, mister funny talk."

"Look who iz doing ze, 'ow you say, ha ha talking now." Came an accusation from a large flaming phoenix. An argument quickly ensued, though due to heavy accents, the reason was unknown.

"Pardon me," Carly tried to cut it, "Um, I'm sorry but," They ignored her. "Hey! Shut up!" There was silence. "Thank you. Now, you have been summoned to help us. Look behind you." They all turned to see the evil creatures now resting comfortably content with their victory. "We need your help. We can't handle them by ourselves. What do you say?"

"Vell, I is guessing we could be giving der help." The hippogryph said.

"Oui, we will be, 'ow you say, assistance.

"We'll be glad to 'elp ya, right lads?" One of the angels said there was roaring approval.

"Um, thanks guys. We'll be right behind you. You all go ahead." In a flash of feathers and fire, they were gone to destroy the evil. "That was one of the strangest things I've ever witnessed." Carly said after they were gone before turning toward all the others behind her. "Everybody, um, forget what I said earlier. If you truly wish to fight, you can." She was almost trampled by a stampede. After they were all gone, only Omi, Nisha, Raimundo, Kimiko, Steve, Tori, Scotty, Clay and Carly were left. "I think I'm gonna sit this out." Carly said sliding down the cave wall to the ground.

"Well you shouldn't be alone," Kimiko said, "I'll stay too."

"Okay then." Carly said as she ran a hand through her hair. "Have fun you guys." She said and the others exited the cave.

"Should I 'uve stayed with her?" Clay asked as the all creeped toward the sounds of fighting.

"Naw," Scotty replied climbing over a fallen tree, "A little sep'ration will do ya both sum good." They both then found themselves in the middle of the fight and quickly concentrated on the task at hand.

"What do you think I should do?" Kimiko asked Carly. Carly was now thick into both sides of the tiff. Raimundo only wanted Kimiko and Kimiko seemed to want just about everyone else.

"Well," Carly said leaning back and admiring the many scratches and bruises than covered her hands. "It seems to me," She lightly scratched her neck, "That-" She stopped that sentence. "Do like Raimundo?"

"Well, sure, he's a good frie-."

"Not just as a friend." Carly cut her off.

"Um," Kimiko thought of when Raimundo had gone to the Heylin side not that long ago. "Does hating him count?"

"No, nothing negative."

"Hm, well, I guess when I met him; I kinda had a bit of a crush, but that died when he turned on us. And I haven't thought of him as anything more than a friend since then."

"You're lying." Carly said with a calm look.

"What?"

"It's in your voice. I'm very sensitive to sound and that last part was a bit hesitant, you liar."

"What are you saying?"

"Why have you been following Steve? What's does he have that Rai doesn't have?" Kimiko was silent. Carly waited patiently for an answer like a cat waits for a mouse to come out of its hole in the wall.

"I…I don't know."

"Which question are you answering?"

"The first one."

"Then what does Steve have that Raimundo doesn't?" She asked slowly.

"Camouflage pants and an Australian accent?"

"And is that why you like him so much?"

"Um,"

"Then why don't you tell Rai?"

"Oh, I can't."

"You don't have to tell him today or tomorrow, just tell him whenever you fell is right." Kimiko simply nodded and they were both quiet for all of ten minutes until Carly began to sing, "You've built a love, but that love falls apart. You're little piece of heaven turns to dark. Listen to your heart when he's calling for you. Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do. I don't know where you're going and I don't know why, but listen to your heart before you tell him goodbye." Kim sat and listened, taking in Carly's low alto voice and her song. Another minute pasted, "And there are voices that want to be heard. So much to mention, but you can't find the words. The scent of magic, the beauty that's been, when love was wilder than the wind."

"I'm gonna go," Kimiko said standing. A weight of guilty pressed down on her heart from Carly's song and advice.

Once she was gone Carly laughed softly, "Oh Carly, you dog." She resumed singing with a different song, "One of us won't last the night, between you and me it's no surprise. There's two of us, both can't be right. Neither will move 'till it's over. I'm the center of attention and the wall's inside my head and no one will ever know it if I keep my mouth shut tight."

Kimiko stood and took in the sight before her. Rocks were flying, obviously from Clay. Flashes on light, Scotty. Waves flowing over creatures pushing them against the wall, Omi's doing. Vines grabbing things and throwing them. Clouds absorbing monsters. Shards of ice cut the air at lightning speed. Caught up in the sight, Kimiko was caught off guard as a huge mountain like troll stomped down beside her. The shockwave from its footfall knocked her to the ground. It loomed over her with a club in its gray fist. Kimiko was paralyzed. Her brain told her muscles to run, attack, do **anything!** But her body didn't respond. It raised its weapon to crush her. Kim shut her eyes tight and then heard, "Typhoon Boom, Wind!" Her red shirt and blue capris ruffled around her body and a few stray hairs from the bun her hair was in whipped around her face. The wind died down and Kimiko opened her eyes. Raimundo stood over her with his hand offered to help her up. "Are you alright?" He asked but before she could answer him, he said, "Look out!" Raimundo grabbed her by the waist and spun her around to his other side as a streak of lighting jetted past where Kim had been a second before.

"Thanks Raimundo." She said breathlessly.

"No prob," Rai replied smiling. He felt a blush crawl across his face and scratched the back of his neck. "You would've done the same for me, right?"

"Yeah." Kimiko smiled a bit blushing too.

"Well, gotta go, lot's of evil butt to kick." He ran off with out another word.

"Oh, you is making such a cute kleine couple." Kimiko jumped and turned to see a white hippogryph beside her.

"Really?" she asked.

"Oh ya, du bist so sveet together." **_(AN: I found that if you type two words of real German in a sentence of fake Deutchlish, the language on the Microsoft Word changes.) _**"You should be watching your back in der fight." He took off to the sky and Kimiko readied herself to battle.

Carly sat calmly resting listening to the faint sounds of the fight. She began to doze off until she heard the sound of a heli-pack and some evil laughing. "This is the perfect place to watch those Xiaolin losers try to beat my army of evil." Carly raised her head and saw the redheaded boy she'd seen earlier. She got up.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" She asked. He jumped three feet in the air and turned around. Clutched to his chest was a leather-bound book with golden writing, though Carly couldn't read it.

"Well," he relaxed a bit and held the book with only one hand, "What are **you** doing here?" On the word you, he made a great gesture with the hand that held the book and practically threw it at Carly. She picked it up and read the title, 'The Book of Demons' written in gold with a decorative pointed devil tail trailing down off the final s. It took Jack all of fifteen seconds to realize his folly. Carly began to leaf through the pages, they were all blank. But they could be filled with the monsters outside. This was it. This was how they could win. "Hey, gimme that!" He ran down the cave to her. Unfortunately for Jack, Carly had something called 'common sense'. As he got close, she grabbed the front of his black jacket.

"Not on your life." She whispered and shoved him into the black abyss that was the jade mine. "You got Jacked." She laughed and ran from the cave to the fight.

"Carly, what in tarnation are you doin' out here?" She held out the book to him, "How'd you get this?"

"Let's just say that there's a kid with a heli-pack out there who's not that bright."

"My friends, what are you doing standing around when you should be punching backside. No breading!"

"Uh, kicking butt, and loafing?" Carly asked Clay who merely shrugged. "Whatever, Omi, we're not loafing. Look what I found." She handed him the book.

"But this is the bad one, what are we to do with this?"

"We can put them all back. Then none of this will ever have happened except in memories." She ran a hand over the bandages on the side of her face.

"Very well," Omi said. He opened the book to the center, "Book of Demons!" He shouted. There was a wave of overpowering bright light. It dimmed and the pages of the book were filled with the drawings of the creatures that had torn the temple apart only a few hours ago. Everyone began to wander over curious to know why the fight was over.

"Everybody," Carly addressed them, "It's over."

"Really," one of the centaurs pushed over to her, "'cuz, we was just gettin' into it. That's a damn shame."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Carly said. "Omi do have the other book?"

"Yes indeed," He pulled it from his robes.

"Do you want to out them back?"

"It would be most simple. Book of Angels!" There was another flash and when the light died down, the other creatures were gone.

"Charlemagne!" Carly jumped and saw Master Hei-Li and the other temple masters marching toward her. She immediately stepped in front of Omi to hide the books and put on a big fake smile.

"Hello, Master Hei-Li, having a nice conference. Anything wrong?"

"Yes something is wrong, either I am mistaken or there was some sort of huge battle involving magical creatures taking place."

"No, of course not. We didn't do anything."

"Then what are you all doing here?"

"Playing capture the flag." Carly blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Then what were those flashes?"

"That was Scotty, she's our referee. Right Scot?"

"Oh yeah, rousin' fun game." She too smiled.

"So there is no reason for you to be concerned with what we're doing. I have everything under control. Now you go back and have a good remainder of your conference." Master Hei-Li looked at Carly and the other Dragons with a bit of doubt about their story, but she brushed it away and bowed.

"I trust you, Charlemagne. Don't let me down."

"No problem, ma'am." The masters left and Carly sighed heavily, "That was close. Good job everyone. Has anyone seen my violin?"

**_Oh man. This took me like a week to write. I'm wicked tired. Alright, I'll stop whining. R&R_**

_**McMuffinDragon has lost consciousness….4fubgv7…88fde4c**_

_**UH! I mean, IS WATCHING YOU!**_

_**Bv…gt55t6…hn 9ifgc **_


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